Charles Clement Fussell (born February 14, 1938, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

)Zullinger, Nathan. “A Guide to the Choral Music of Charles Fussell.” DMA diss., Boston University, 2012. is an American composer and conductor of

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

. He has composed six

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and three

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s.Fussell, Charles. ''Charles Fussell: Wilde''. Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Gil Rose. BMOP/sound 1005, 2008, compact disc. Liner notes. His symphony ''Wilde'' for solo

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, based on the life of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

and premiered by the Newton Symphony Orchestra and the baritone

Sanford Sylvan Sanford Sylvan (December 19, 1953 – January 29, 2019) was an American baritone. Biography Sanford Mead Sylvan was born in New York City on December 19, 1953, and grew up in Syosset, New York. Starting at age 13 he participated in the Juillia ...

in 1990, was a finalist for the 1991

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

. He received a citation and award from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

in 1992.Fussell, Charles. ''Charles Fussell: Cymbeline''. Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Gil Rose. BMOP/sound 1059, 2018, compact disc. Liner notes. Fussell received advanced degrees in composition and conducting from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

, where he studied with

Thomas Canning Thomas Canning (December 12, 1911 – October 4, 1989) was a composer and music educator, serving as a professor of composition and music theory at the Eastman school and as composer-in-residence at West Virginia University. He also held appointme ...

and

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

. He received a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

grant to study at the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

, where he worked with

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (he ...

. He also attended the

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

masterclasses of

Friedelind Wagner Friedelind Wagner (29 March 1918 – 8 May 1991) was the elder daughter of German opera composer Siegfried Wagner and his English wife, Winifred Williams and the granddaughter of the composer Richard Wagner. She was also the great-granddaughte ...

. In 1964 he received a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

grant to be a composer-in-residence in the

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

public school system. He was an assistant and close friend of the composer

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...

. He served as the president of the Thomson Foundation for many years. Fussell has served on the faculty of the

University of Massachusetts at Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

, the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

(1976–1977),

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

(1983–2003), and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Catalogue of works

Late 1950s * ''Essay for Orchestra'' * ''Variations for Orchestra'' * ''Six Dances for Orchestra'' 1962 * ''Caligula'', opera based on a play by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

* ''Trio'', for violin, cello, and piano 1963 * ''Dance Suite'', for flute, trumpet, viola, and two percussionists * Symphony in One Movement o. I for large orchestra 1964 * ''Sweelinck Liedvariationen Mein Junges Leben'', for solo string trio, marimba, mandolin, harp, and small orchestra * ''Saint Stephen and Herod'', drama for speaker, chorus, and winds 1965 * ''Poems for Chamber Orchestra and Voices after Hart Crane'', text by

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

* ''Three Choral Pieces'' (rev. 1975), for chorus and piano ** I. ''Fancy's Knell'' (SA and piano) ** II. ''Three Epitaphs'' (TB and piano) ** III. ''I Saw a Peacock'' (mixed chorus and piano) 1967 * Symphony No. II, for soprano and large orchestra 1968 * ''Two Ballades'' (rev. 1976), for cello and piano * ''The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation'', realization after

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

for soprano and ten instruments 1970 * ''Voyages'', for soprano and tenor soloists, female chorus, piano, and solo wind instrument plus recorded speaker. Text by Hart Crane. 1971 * ''Julian'', drama in five scenes after the tale of

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

1973 * ''Three Processionals for Orchestra'' 1975 * ''Eurydice'', for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, with obligato trumpet, horn, trombone, and bass-drum 1976 * ''Résumé'', cycle of nine songs for soprano, clarinet, string bass, and piano. Text by

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

. * ''Greenwood Sketches, Music for String Quartet'' * ''A Prophecy'', for chorus and piano. Text by

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

. 1977 * ''Etudes and Portraits'', for solo organ 1979 * ''Northern Lights'', two portraits for chamber orchestra ** I. ''Leós Janacek'', for two flutes, four solo violins, timpani, and strings ** II. ''Edvard Munch'', for two flutes, string quartet, timpani, and string orchestra * ''A Joyful Fugue'', transcription for band of an orchestral score by Virgil Thomson 1981 * ''Landscapes'', Symphony No. III, for chorus and large orchestra ** I. ''A Prophecy'' (Allen Ginsberg) ** II. ''A Night Battle'' (

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

) ** III. ''Moment Fugue 1929'' (Hart Crane) ** IV. ''Landscape'' (Alberta Phillips) * ''Four Fairy Tales After Oscar Wilde'', for orchestra ** I. ''The Young King'' ** II. ''The Nightingale and the Rose'' ** III. ''The Happy Prince'' *** A. ''Prelude'' *** B. ''Romance of the Sparrow and Reed'' *** C. ''Coda'' ** IV. ''The Remarkable Rocket'' 1982 * Overture to ''Paul Bunyan'', transcription for band of an orchestral score by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

1983 * ''Song of Return'', for SATB chorus with piano. Text by

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

. 1985 * ''Cymbeline'', drama after

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

for soprano and tenor soli, narrator, plus chamber ensemble (11 players) 1986 * ''The Gift'', for SATB chorus with soprano solo. Text by

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

. * ''Three Portraits for Chamber Orchestra'' ** I. ''Virgil Thomson'' (1981) *** Version for solo piano composed in 2015 ** II. ''Maurice Grosser'' (1983) ** III. ''Jack Larson'' (1986) 1988 * ''Free-fall'', for chamber ensemble (seven players) 1989 * ''A Song of Return'', cantata for small chorus and orchestra. Text by W. H. Auden. * ''The Gift'', for chorus, soprano solo, and orchestra 1990 * ''Wilde'' ymphony No. IV for baritone and orchestra. Runner-up for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Music. 1991 * ''Goethe Lieder'', cycle of five songs with an epilogue ** 1. Soprano or tenor and piano ** 2. Version for seven players ** 3. Version for orchestra * ''Last Trombones'', for five percussionists, two pianos, and six (or twelve) trombones 1992 * ''Specimen Days'', cantata for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra. Text by Will Graham, based on the life and writings of Walt Whitman. 1993 * ''Being Music'', for baritone solo and string quartet. Text by Walt Whitman. * ''Song and Dance'', for violin and piano * ''Invocation'', for chorus (SA and accompaniment or SATB). Text by

May Sarton May Sarton was the pen name of Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912 – July 16, 1995), a Belgian-American poet, novelist and memoirist. Although her best work is strongly personalised with erotic female imagery, she resisted the label of ‘lesbi ...

. 1994 * ''Sonata-Duo'', for flute and piano 1995 * Symphony No. V, for orchestra * ''Night Song'', for solo piano 1996 * ''Comrade'' and ''The Journey'', two songs for baritone and piano 1997 * ''The Astronaut's Tale'', chamber opera. Text by

Jack Larson Jack Edward Larson (February 8, 1928 – September 20, 2015) was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the television series '' Adventures of Superm ...

. * ''Mists'', three pieces for a cappella chorus. Texts by Hart Crane. 1998 * ''November Leaves'', four songs for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Texts by

Alfred Corn Alfred Corn (born August 14, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. Early life Alfred Corn was born in Bainbridge, Georgia in 1943 and raised in Valdosta, Georgia. Corn graduated from Emory University in 1965 with a B.A. in French literature ...

. * ''Sonnet'', for baritone solo, flute, and organ. Text by

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the N ...

. * ''Trio'', for violin, cello, and piano 1999 * ''From A Pioneer Songbook'', for a cappella chorus 2000 * ''A Walt Whitman Sampler'', for TTBB chorus and piano. Text by Will Graham. * ''Venture'', four songs for baritone and piano on poems by Toni Mergentime Levi ** Version for baritone and orchestra was composed in 2016 2002 * ''Right River'', Variations on an Original Theme for 'cello and string orchestra 2003 * ''Infinite Fraternity'', for SATB chorus, baritone solo, flute, and viola. Texts by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

, and Will Graham. * ''High Bridge'' (rev. 2008), A Choral Symphony o. VIafter poems of Hart Crane, for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone solos, chorus and orchestra 2008 * ''Moonshine'', for double bass and vibraphone 2011 * ''Marion in Memory'', for flute, clarinet, horn, violin, cello, piano, and marimba 2018 * ''K.G. in Space and Time'', for flute, clarinet, horn, marimba (and vibraphone), piano (and celesta), violin, and cello

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fussell, Charles Living people American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers Place of birth missing (living people) 1938 births 20th-century American male musicians